Volcanic Age

"He's not…?!"

Zhou Xuchuan's face twisted in shock. He tried to rush forward to stop the Blood Demon, but it was too late. The Blood Demon raised the Death Yin Staff to waist height and slammed it down with all his might.

Boom!

The staff struck the ground, sinking deep into the earth. The impact unleashed a blood-red shockwave that rippled outward—a shockwave of pure aura.

The ground buckled, rocks shattered into fragments, and a fierce windstorm tore through the area.

"Ugh!"

Zhou Xuchuan steadied himself, bracing against the shockwave with the Ten-Thousand Jin Sword. But the others weren't as fortunate—they were thrown back, unable to withstand the force.

Even the daggers embedded in the ground were either shattered or sucked into the cracks that split the earth. The shockwave traveled as far as ten zhang, leaving everything within that radius dented and crushed, as if a massive sphere had dropped around the Blood Demon.

"Ugh!"

"Aghhh!"

"Cough, cough!"

Dust filled the air, tickling Zhou Xuchuan's nose and stinging his throat. As the acrid cloud of dust cleared, injured martial artists and cultists began to emerge. They all groaned, as if they had been injured by the shockwave.

"..."

Zhuge Xiuluan furrowed her delicate eyebrows.

All a formation-breaking technique really required was a method to disrupt a formation. After all, natural formations could only be activated when both people and natural objects were present in alignment.

As long as that requirement was disrupted, natural formations would naturally disappear. However, that wasn't as easy as it sounded.

One wrong move could lead to one being sucked into the Death Gate. Even if one was able to reach the life gate, accidentally destroying it could end up being a massive problem.

Normally, one would destroy such formations from the outside. Yet the Blood Demon had thrown that logic out the window.

He literally destroyed the surroundings with overwhelming power, blowing away the natural formation in the process.

"Now, let me see your skills!"

Boom.

The Blood Demon charged forward like a rampaging rhinoceros. Each of his steps left a small crater in the ground.

Zhou Xuchuan's skin prickled with goosebumps. The pressure from one of the Ten Empyrean Overlords charging at him was no joke.

"Plum Blossom Order Sword!"

The Blood Demon raised the Death Yin Staff over his head and brought it down.

There was no technique behind it. It was just a simple swing.

However, the power contained in the Death Yin Staff was anything but simple. It contained the enlightenment of the Coruscant Realm and the immense qi that the Blood Demon had accumulated throughout his life. A blood-red glow radiated from it ominously.

"Heup!"

Zhou Xuchuan's instincts kicked in before his mind could react. His sword, covered in a purple aura, swung upward.

Clang!

A sound rang out.

This wasn't the sound of a sword and staff colliding. No, it was an explosion, as if gunpowder had been ignited.

What, what the hell is…!

Zhou Xuchuan gritted his teeth, his face twisting in pain. The shock from the attack rippled through his muscles, spreading through his entire body. His legs trembled, and it felt like his internal organs were collapsing.

He nearly screamed.

He had assumed that the Blood Demon had swung lightly, but that wasn't the case at all. The force of the attack was so strong that his bones felt as though someone had drilled into them with ice, making him dizzy.

Demonic arts were already physically stronger than the cultivation methods of the Righteous or Evil Dao. It was even more so when it came to the demonic arts of one of the Ten Empyrean Overlords.

"Huh?"

The Blood Demon's voice was filled with doubt.

"Violet Haze Divine Art?"

In the Central Plains murim, no, in the entire world, there was only one cultivation method that had the characteristic of purple qi.

The greatest divine art of the Mount Hua Sect.

The Violet Haze Divine Art.

However, it wasn't an art that an ordinary disciple could learn, which explained the Blood Demon's confusion.

Now!

A slight opening had appeared and Zhou Xuchuan was not one to miss it.

Violet Haze!

He raised his brilliant purple qi, and as it boiled, it transformed from internal energy into external power that was so pure that it was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Dawnbreaker!

BOOM!

Thunder roared through the gloomy clouds. It wasn't real lightning, though. The sound came from the release of the Violet Haze Sword Sutra's first form.

The sword shot forward in a straight line, appearing much closer in an instant. The attack moved just as fast as the sound it produced.

"Violet Haze Sword Sutra?"

As expected, the Blood Demon immediately recognized it. With his experience, he identified the technique the moment he saw it.

The sword, which was filled with aura that rotated like a spinning dragon,[1] aimed for the Blood Demon's chest.

Unfortunately, it never made contact.

The dazzling purple strike was blocked by the Death Yin Staff and scattered harmlessly.

There was no visible defense around the staff itself.

"Formless Aura!"

There were several changes when one reached the Coruscant Realm, and aura, the hallmark of the Harmony Realm, was one of them.

Originally, one's aura had a shade or attribute based on one's unique techniques or nature.

However, when one reached the Coruscant Realm or the Unfettered Demon Stage, that form became meaningless and disappeared.

As the name suggested, one would be able to use aura without form. Since an opponent couldn't see it, they wouldn't be able to gauge the distance of an incoming attack. Worse, they couldn't even tell if it was a physical strike or one made purely with aura.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I've been experiencing a lot of strange things today. There was that thing you call a Portable Natural Formation, and now, someone who isn't even the sect master's disciple is using the Violet Haze Divine Art…. hoho."

The Blood Demon remained calm, laughing heartily as though he found the situation entertaining.

"Gal!"

A loud shout echoed from a hundred paces away as a powerful fist wind struck the Blood Demon's side. His half-rotted body shook from the impact.

The Zhongnan Sect's Seal Dragon, Hao Dechang, also flew forward. While it looked as though his steps would be heavy because of his large frame, it wasn't only because of his weight. Wherever he passed, he left footprints that were in the shape of a dipper.

It was the Zhongnan Sect's Big Dipper Heavenly Power Steps.

"Ha!"

Hao Dechang remained silent the entire time, letting his actions speak for him. With a single shout and a powerful attack, he conveyed everything he needed to.

The Big Dipper Heavenly Power Steps was both a method of defense and a movement technique. Hao Dechang built up qi and power with each step, preparing his attack after seven steps.

He gathered all his strength into the Five Thunder Peak Seals, closing in on the Blood Demon from behind and pressing his palm against his back.

Crack, crackle!

Five streaks of blue light shot out from Hao Dechang's fingertips, penetrating the Blood Demon's body. The extreme yang qi it carried burned intensely.

The Violet Haze Sword Sutra in the front, the Five Thunder Peak Seals in the rear, and the Hundred Paces Divine Fist from the side.

With that, not even an Unfettered Demon, or even an Unfettered Demon's grandfather, would be able to survive.

Or so they thought.

"Ugh…"

A groan or a laugh escaped the Blood Demon's mouth.

"Have you gone mad from the pain that's gone beyond the path?"[2]

Hong Gao frowned at the Blood Demon's laughter.

"Of course not."

The Blood Demon laughed, his torn mouth stretching grotesquely.

His left cheek was completely ripped open, leaving his expression unreadable. Yet Hong Gao noticed the faintest twitch at the corner of the Blood Demon's mouth—it was clear he was laughing.

"Dodge!"

Something was wrong.

Hong Gao shouted, omitting even the honorifics, but it was too late. An eerie light gleamed in the Blood Demon's eyes.

"Ugh!"

Hao Dechang suddenly coughed up blood. His eyes widened, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably.

His face began to swell and became so bloated that it looked like it was going to burst.

"Cough, cough!"

Blood poured from his mouth, nose, and ears. The whites of his eyes turned red, and tears of blood streamed down his face.

"Ugh!"

The muscles and fat on his torso swelled. However, before that, Hao Dechang's breathing and pulse stopped.

In the end, Hao Dechang grabbed at his chest as if he was trying to tear it off, knelt down, and died instantly with a single scream.

The Seal Dragon… is dead?

Zhou Xuchuan was too stunned to speak.

The Seal Dragon of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes wasn't a talent who was supposed to die here. He was supposed to be a hero who would fight the Dark Heavens Association as an expert of the Zhongnan Sect much later.

However, to think he would die so meaninglessly!

"The Qi and Blood Demonic Art…" Zhuge Xiuluan muttered grimly.

It was the foundational demonic art of the cult leader of the Blood Cult.

The Qi and Blood Demonic Art allowed its user to manipulate qi and blood—both their own and others'.

The Blood Demon was especially skilled at manipulating blood flow, and he could even make blood flow backward, as he had just done to Hao Dechang.

Normally, the human heart has a valve that prevents blood from flowing backward. Even if there's an issue and blood begins to reverse, the heart's pressure and the valve would force it back to its proper direction, ensuring no lasting harm.

But the Blood Demon could bypass this safeguard entirely. To be precise, he used his qi to apply overwhelming pressure, tearing the valve apart.

Once the valve was destroyed, there was nothing to stop the blood from flowing uncontrollably. Blood vessels would rupture, the heart would fail, leading to one's death.

"If another dozen years had passed, I wouldn't have been able to handle this with my already failing body. My spine is going to hurt for a while."

It was a compliment for his opponent.

The Blood Demon raised his free hand, leaving three fingers folded while extending the index and middle fingers.

Thrum.

Hao Dechang's body slowly floated into the air.

While it looked like Spatial Manipulation, it was actually slightly different.

He was moving the blood flow of the body using the Qi and Blood Demonic Art to make the corpse levitate.

Splash!

Droplets of thickening blood floated upward, separating one by one. Streams of blood drained from Hao Dechang's lifeless body, pooling in mid-air. It looked as though a giant mosquito of qi was feeding off his veins.

"You bastard! Blood Demon!"

Hong Gao let out a furious yell and swung his fist.

The fist carried immense pressure, but the Blood Demon blocked it effortlessly with a glance, spreading a formless thin film in the air. It was a defensive qi barrier.

"You've been noisy for a while now. As expected of a monk, you keep interfering. You won't even be useful, so I'll take care of you first."

This time, the Blood Demon curled his thumb and middle finger, extending the others.

Hao Dechang's body dropped to the ground. It looked completely desiccated, as if all the moisture had been sucked out, leaving only skin and bones.

No!

Zhou Xuchuan became anxious.

He couldn't lose the Divine Fist. Hong Gao was a talent needed in the upcoming war against the Dark Heavens Association.

Fortunately, he had some time left. He kicked off the ground and flew up, blocking the path to Hong Gao.

"Your courage is admirable."

Above Hao Dechang's corpse, a sphere of blood the size of a child's head formed in the air.

"But you're foolish."

The Blood Demon flicked his thumb and middle finger. A portion of the blood sphere shot forward at a speed impossible to follow with the naked eye.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuchuan's instincts kicked in before his mind could process what was happening. Without hesitation, he swung his sword with blinding speed, slicing through the sphere.

Damn it!

Zhou Xuchuan gritted his teeth.

The blood sphere didn't vanish. Instead, it split into two smaller spheres.

Zhou Xuchuan managed to dodge one, but the other pierced his shoulder, leaving a gaping hole.

Ugh!

The wound was in the arm holding his sword. Although he didn't drop it, his arm hung limp.

"How courageous," the Blood Demon praised before snapping his fingers again. The blood sphere curved back like a whip, piercing Zhou Xuchuan's other shoulder and one of his legs.

How is this…

The Blood Demon's strength was truly amazing. Zhou Xuchuan hadn't let his guard down, but it was beyond his imagination.

It hadn't been that long since they had clashed. He thought that they would be able to buy time with the Portable Natural Formation. However, the Blood Demon had pushed back in an instant.

The main forces of the task force had attacked together earlier, but they hadn't inflicted any significant damage.

The situation was horrible.

"I like you. I'll handle you later."

The Blood Demon put his fingers together again.

"Run away!" Zhou Xuchuan shouted desperately, but neither Hong Gao nor Zhuge Xiuluan could move. They were frozen, like prey before a predator.

"You'll all meet again in the afterlife, so don't worry…"

The Blood Demon's complexion changed.

Shing!

A flash of light flew in from somewhere.

"Hmph!"

The Blood Demon quickly changed his hand seals, pressing his index and middle fingers together. The blood in the air spread out, forming a barrier in an instant.

Clang!

A metallic sound rang out, sharp and piercing. Zhou Xuchuan's ears buzzed, but to him, the sound was like music from the heavens.

Thrum.

"So you've finally arrived."

The Blood Demon dismissed the blood barrier and let out a low, amused laugh. Standing before him was an old man with his hands clasped behind his back, a sword floating beside him.

"Sword Immortal, You Riwen."

1. A rope tornado, or a thin twister, is called a Dragon Spinning Wind. ☜

2. A reference to one of the Buddhist views on suffering ☜